Team Stats (Pelicans @ Bulls) Final Score: 114-104 Rebounds: 53-43 Assists: 21-26 Blocks: 5-5 Steals: 7-10 Turnovers: 14-13 Stat Leaders (Pelicans/Bulls) Scoring Leaders: Jeremiah Fears, Trey Murphy III, 20; Coby White, 20 Rebound Leaders: Trey Murphy III, 10; Nikola Vučević, 8 Assist Leaders: Derik Queen, 6; Josh Giddey, Coby White, Tre Jones, 5 My Player of the Game: Trey Murphy III Takeaways The Pelicans have won two games in a row! James Borrego has figured something special out with this team, and it's so fun to watch . For the first time in five years, Zion played his first minutes coming off the bench, and it was so good to see Z back on the court weeks ahead of schedule. New Orleans started off the third quarter on a 10-0 run and ended up winning by 10 points. This team is so talented with everyone playing an important role in games. The Saints won today so to have them win as well as the Pelicans was really good for the city. The Pelicans play their next two games at home on Thursday and Saturday. Follow The Kneaux on X , and follow me there too @SportsChrissy.

New Orleans Saints 20 - 17 Carolina Panthers Let me start by saying this is officially the happiest I have been as a Saints fan since the hot start the Saints had in 2021 with Jameis Winston. I felt great when the team started hot last season, but I also recognized what Derek Carr was for the organization: a placeholder. I don’t mean that as a slight to Derek Carr by any means, but the team needed to find a young and promising quarterback for the team to actually reset for the future. Well… that time has come with Tyler Shough beating the two top teams in the division in back-to-back weeks. Have the games been perfect? No, but I didn’t expect them to be with a rookie quarterback and a roster depleted of talent. That being said, as someone who doesn’t live in New Orleans, I have to imagine that the city is riding on a high tonight, and hopefully that continues into the offseason. With all of that being said, let’s break down the awesome performance by Tyler Shough and Co. Tyler Shough Shough has continued to improve every single week as a starter, and he seems to consistently take over in clutch moments. Against the Dolphins, he gave Olave a chance to win the game for the team, but it was dropped. Against the Bucs last week, he took over with his legs to take the lead in the fourth. This week, he once again showed up against the Panthers and delivered as perfect a pass as you will see in the NFL to Chris Olave against all-out pressure with Jaycee Horn in coverage. You cannot ask for more from this young rookie, and I will continue to be baffled if I don’t see all of the NFL pundits on ESPN and the other sports networks putting the word out there that Tyler Shough may be the guy for the Saints. Shough finished the night 24/32 for 272 yards and a touchdown, in addition to being the leading rusher of the day with 32 yards. Not only did he elevate this Saints offense, but he also did so even after Cesar Ruiz, Devin Neal, and Devaughn Vele went down. As much as I love Rattler, I can’t say that I believe he would have been able to overcome a similar situation. The Saints have their quarterback of the future, and now the question is, do they give him weapons or try to go and get pieces to make the defense more disruptive? In my mind, they should go and get Jordyn Tyson, Carnell Tate, or Jeremiyah Love and do whatever it takes to see what Shough has in him in 2026. The Defense After allowing another opening drive touchdown in this game, the Saints’ defense has allowed the opposing team's offense into the endzone in five of their last six matchups. That being said, the defense has played well enough in these games to allow their offense chances to make plays to win games. I love what I am seeing for Chase Young, as he has exceeded all of my expectations since coming back from injury. He now has six sacks in the nine games he’s been healthy, and I can all but guarantee he’d have more if the opposing offenses had anyone else they had to worry about on the Saints’ defensive line. If the Saints do go defense to start the draft, Arvell Reese will be the obvious first choice, but I’m not sure they’ll be in the range to pick him. So instead I could see them going with Caleb Downs if they choose to go that side of the ball with their first, or instead wait to go defensive line with their second. I believe the Saints can wait to take a corner in this one, with Quincy Riley and Kool-Aid both showing they are at least average cornerbacks in the NFL. Yes, Quincy Riley did allow a touchdown in this one, but it was mainly because he tried to look for the football instead of simply playing the receiver after being beaten. This will quickly be coached up and is a common mistake you see made by cornerbacks across the league. In my eyes, the key to truly making this defense take another leap would be to fix the interior defensive line. Although they can somehow stop teams repeatedly in goal-to-go situations, opposing teams have found dominant success with inside run schemes. Once the team can fix that in the offseason or in the draft, this defense may find itself in the top half of the league for the foreseeable future. Kellen Moore If this game ended at halftime, I would once again be on here with numerous negative things to say about Kellen Moore. He made a bad challenge on the Panthers' first drive, he wasn’t aggressive to end the half, the offense started slow once again, and the penalties began to pop up, similar to earlier in the season. That being said, the game didn’t end at halftime, and Kellen Moore helped lead this team back in a divisional game, building more and more confidence for this team and what they’re building. Moore finally won his first challenge of the season, and his playcalling on the final two drives was textbook. He knew exactly how to take advantage of the clock and the Panthers’ “soft” defense, and was a major reason the Saints were able to win this game. If Kellen Moore can continue to build hope and make it look like he knows what he’s doing while navigating this roster in the middle of a rebuild, he’ll keep me in his corner. Let’s see what he does to start next week’s game against a Jets team that just let Trevor Lawrence look like he was back playing at Clemson The Irish Hammer I don't have too much to say, but a huge shout-out to Charlie Smyth for going two-for-two on the day with two 40+ yard field goals and a 47-yard game-winner to take down the divisional rival. Charlie Smyth is still developing, but it appears the Saints have found their kicker, and I'm excited to see when he gets the chance to break the new 67-yard field goal record. Cheers to the Irish Hammer. Offensive MVP: Tyler Shough Defensive MVP: Chase Young Special Teams MVP: CHARLIE “THE IRISH HAMMER” SMYTH

Team Stats (Trail Blazers at Pelicans) Final Score: 120-143 Rebounds: 419-57 Assists: 27-36 Blocks: 7-8 Steals: 5-10 Turnovers: 15-8 Stat Leaders Scoring Leaders: Shaedon Sharpe, 21; Trey Murphy III, 24 Rebound Leaders: Kris Murray, 9; Yves Missi, Saddiq Bey, 8 Assist Leaders: Deni Avdija, 6; Derik Queen, 7 My Player of the Game: Derik Queen Chrissy's Key Takeaways * The Pelicans have won their fourth game of the season. Yay ! * Jordan Poole was back tonight and he made a world of difference. His three-point shooting, confidence, and leadership were a ton of help. * Derik Queen is a problem for all other 29 teams in this league. This kid has a vision that hasn't been seen in any recent rookies, especially for a center. * Bryce McGowens was the second-leading scorer in this game with 23 points. He's stepped up in a big way. * In surprising news, Zion Williamson is questionable for Sunday's game at the Chicago Bulls. This is the first time in what seems like years that Zion's health is actually improving much sooner than projected. Whether this is a sign of Zion pushing himself or James Borrego pushing him, it's nice to see. Follow @TheKneaux on X, and follow me there too, @SportsChrissy.

Can the Saints win again?

Amidst preparation for their eighth consecutive bowl game, the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns football team earlier this week received special news that came rather unexpectedly: redshirt senior safety Tyree Skipper would be reinstated by the Sun Belt Conference for the 68 Ventures Bowl. And in today's media availability, head coach Michael Desormeaux and defensive coordinator Jim Salgado expressed their gratitude and emotions about being able to have him for one last game. "I'm incredibly grateful for [Sun Belt] Commissioner [Keith] Gill for reconsidering his suspension," Coach Des said. He later mentioned that ever since the suspension and prior to the reinstatement, Skipper had not missed a single team function or been late for anything, focusing on schoolwork and practicing with the team all while knowing he would not be able to play in any of the final three games. He was even voted scout team player of the week last week and has almost unanimously been voted the team captain by the team. "Skip has taken full responsibility. He's been a model teammate leader...He's done everything the way that you want a guy to do." Defensive coordinator Jim Salgado also expressed his gratitude about Tyree Skipper, emphasizing how special it is to be able to have one last game together. "I FaceTimed [Skipper], and...he said, we're going to be able to do this one more time together. And, you know, that's special. I'm just glad he gets a chance to do that...He's done a lot for this place, so it's big." A few weeks ago, following UL's 42-39 victory over Texas State, a post-game altercation between the two teams led to suspensions on both sides by the Sun Belt Conference. Six Texas State players were suspended, while Louisiana had seven players given suspensions. 11 of the 13 players were to serve one-game suspensions, and TXST's Tymere Jackson, who supposedly started the entire altercation, was suspended for two games. But one player received the biggest of all the suspensions, and that was star safety Tyree Skipper, who was given a suspension for the remainder of the season including any potential bowl game. This conclusion was made after it was determined that Skipper swung a helmet at another player during the brawl. With this year being Skipper's redshirt senior year, that basically meant his collegiate career was over. Following the suspensions announcement, Skipper wrote a heartfelt and well-written apology on X, which included, "I understand that as a leader, I have to hold myself to a higher standard. That moment doesn't define who I am or the values I stand for." That public apology was eventually received by Sun Belt Commissioner Keith Gill, which prompted his reconsideration on Skipper's suspension going into the bowl game. According to the Sun Belt Conference, the reinstatement decision was made with support of both UL and TXST administrations. Tyree Skipper himself was at media availability today as well and emphasized how much it meant to him that he would be able to finish his collegiate career off on a positive note. "It was the greatest news I got all year...Finishing one more with the guys, man that means everything to me. This is the game you'll remember for the rest of your life, the last game of your collegiate career...I even shedded some tears." Skipper, a redshirt senior, has been on the team all six years of his collegiate career. Earning All-Sun Belt Conference 2nd team honors last year and Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference 1st team this year, the New Orleans has been the leader of this secondary all season. Leading the safeties room in tackles, Skipper has recorded a sack and an interception this season prior to his suspension. With him returning for one final game, he looks to mimic those stats against Delaware and even more, as the Cajuns set to face the Blue Hens in the 68 Ventures Bowl game on Wednesday at 7:30pm in Mobile, Alabama. This article written by Abdul Abusada of Cajuns Insider and Cajun Sports Talk. Don't forget to tune into Cajuns Insider podcast shows on all The Kneaux socials every week during the football season! Our next episode is this upcoming Monday at 6pm. Also don't forget to tune into The Cajun Sports Talk Podcast Show on @CajunSportsTalk on YouTube every Tuesday evening!

Louisiana Athletics have been working the phone lines today as they have set their second future non-conference matchup of the day. Just hours after the announcement that the Cajuns would be making a trip to USC in 2026, it has been revealed that Louisiana will make a trip to Fort Worth, Texas in 2028 to play the Horned Frogs of TCU out of the Big 12 Conference. The game will be played in week 3 of the 2028 season on September 16th at Amon G. Carter Stadium, and will be the second all-time matchup between the two schools in football. Louisiana and TCU last met in the 2024 Isleta New Mexico Bowl, where the Horned Frogs earned a 34-3 win. The Cajuns, who were depleted due to a large number of players opting out and entering the transfer portal, were limited to just two red-zone opportunities, taking advantage in one of them with a short 24-yard field goal that gave them their only points. TCU's QB Josh Hoover threw for 4 touchdowns and 252 yards. TCU finished their 2025 regular season with an 8-4 record, and are now shifting focus on playing #16 USC in the Alamo Bowl at the end of the month. Louisiana on the other hand finished 6-6 after a four-game win stretch to earn bowl eligibility, and look to end 2025 with a winning record as they set to face 6-6 Delaware in the 68 Ventures Bowl. This article written by Abdul Abusada of Cajuns Insider and Cajun Sports Talk. Don't forget to tune into Cajuns Insider podcast shows on all The Kneaux socials every week during the football season! Also don't forget to tune into The Cajun Sports Talk Podcast Show on @CajunSportsTalk on YouTube every Tuesday evening!

The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns football team are scheduled to meet with the USC Trojans in Los Angeles, California on Saturday, September 12, 2026, Cajuns Insider learned. USC will host the Cajuns at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, with UL getting a $1.3 million guarantee for playing the game, according to Kevin Kelley of FBSchedules.com. This will be the first ever football matchup between the two schools. USC, a Big Ten school, has a record of 2-0 against Sun Belt teams, while Louisiana has an 0-6 record against Big Ten opponents. UL will have a chance to earn their first win against a Big Ten opponent when they make the cross-country trip to Los Angeles. USC finished the regular season with a 9-3 record and ranked 16th in the CFP Top 25, which included wins against #15 Michigan and #21 Iowa. They finished the season top 10 in total offense, averaging 472 yards and 36.5 points per game. R-Jr QB Jayden Maiava and R-Fr RB King Miller have been on the throne for this high-powered offense, both with the potential of returning to USC next season for another run at the playoffs. The Trojans are currently set to face the TCU Horned Frogs in the Alamo Bowl. With this addition, Louisiana's non-conference schedule, as of now, appears to be set for 2026. The Cajuns will play all four non-conference opponents in the first four weeks of their season, kicking off against an FCS opponent, the Lamar Cardinals, in Lafayette on September 5th. They will then head to Los Angeles to face USC the next week, then will be back home to face the UAB Blazers of the American Conference on September 19th. Following that game, the Cajuns are currently scheduled to play in Ruston against a familiar foe in Louisiana Tech on September 26th. However, the Bulldogs are set to join the Sun Belt Conference, which could happen either prior to the start of 2026 or 2027. If they do join in 2026, that game against Louisiana Tech would be taken off of the Cajuns' schedule, re-opening UL's search for another non-conference game. This article written by Abdul Abusada of Cajuns Insider and Cajun Sports Talk. Don't forget to tune into Cajuns Insider podcast shows on all The Kneaux socials every week during the football season! Also don't forget to tune into The Cajun Sports Talk Podcast Show on @CajunSportsTalk on YouTube every Tuesday evening!